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Only Fools and Horses: The Yellow Peril (1982)
Del Da Vinci
"The Yellow Peril" is hilarious. It introduces a story-line (that includes painting and decorating). The story goes: Del (in order to get rid of some hooky paint) gets a painting and decorating job at a Chinese restaurant. What he doesn't know is that the paint (sold to him by Trigger) is fluorescent and is nicked from the railway.
Yet another sturdy entry into the brilliant season two has a fantastic screenplay by John Sullivan. Brilliant acting by David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst and specially Lennard Pearce.
All in all "Yellow Peril" is a fine example of a true "Only Fools and Horses" episode spirit.
Only Fools and Horses: Ashes to Ashes (1982)
Season Two, Episode Two, Rating Ten
Again, a brilliant episode. Season Two really stands out as a cry of brilliance from the incredibly talented pen of John Sullivan. The story stands out by it's wackiness, brilliance and hilariousness. It goes: Del Boy buys two urns at the funeral of Trigger's grandma. During the inspection of them he finds one of them is full. As it turns out Grandad had a major fall out with Arthur (Trigger's grandam's husband, who's ashes is in the urn) when Grandad cheated with his wife. So Arthur (having some gypsy blood in him) puts a curse on old Grandad to haunt him when he dies. Del and Rodney try everything to get rid of the ashes but it doesn't work. When finally it is sucked into a garbage truck they find out Trigger's grandma married twice and there is ashes in the second urn too.
"Ashes to Ashes" is absolutely brilliant, funny and well made.
Only Fools and Horses: The Long Legs of the Law (1982)
Hilarious
"Long Legs of Law" opened season two in the most brilliant way possible. "Long Legs of Law" is a hilarious, well-written, well-acted episode i enjoyed thoroughly. The story is simple and there lies it's beauty: Rodney dates a policewoman !!!!
How Johnny Sullivan does it i don't know. Dialogues are brilliant, situation's are wonderful and the way he handles characters are amazing. The show finally stands on it's two feet and the way it's gonna develop is obvious for the first time. "Long Legs of Law" stands tall as a monument to a brilliant show. This episode was the first episode i re-watched after i heard the sad news that John Sullivan died. I think it should be dedicated to his memory.
Only Fools and Horses: No Greater Love... (1982)
Funny, Forgettable but Funny
Season Two continues it's winning streak with a funny but forgettable episode entitled "No Greater Love". In it Rodney falls in love for a forty-years old Irene Mackay, wife of an imprisoned attempted murderer Thomas 'Tommy' Mackay. Del is worried for Rodney's life when Tommy finds out what's going on with Rod and Irene. Soon Rodney is dumped and Del's fingers are in it.
"No Greater Love" has some funny lines and scenes but it's ultimately forgettable. John Sullivan wrote this episode with care and affection but it just stands still.
It could have been better but it's still a one i like to re-visit.
Only Fools and Horses: A Losing Streak (1982)
Another Brilliant One
Del has a gambling session with Trigger and Boycie. But Boycie is cheating. "A Losing Streak" continues the wonderful "winning streak" of season two. It seems unmissable. Season one was weak but season two works amazingly and it's hilarious. "A Losing Streak" was amazing, i really loved the way it was written and the way it works as a bottle episode (only usual sets and only the main cast). I watched it many times and loved it every one.
Boycie's character gets a bigger role and a much more developed one than in "Go West Young Man" and John Challis is perfect. Trigger gets a something of a developing role which Roger Lloyd Pack delivers without a mistake.
Only Fools and Horses: Christmas Crackers (1981)
A So-So Episode
"Christmas Crackers" has absolutely no clear plot but is only a series of different sketches and situations that include: Grandad's cooking, Destruction of the chicken, Antibiotics, How to seduce a lady and others. Now some of them are amusing but neither are funny and i just chuckled during a few moments.
John Sullivan's script is okay and some of the one-liners are pretty well- written but it's just more like a part of Red Nose Day special than an episode of an on-going OFAH season. Acting is perfect and the directing is great too.
I have seen "CC" a few times and i enjoy seeing it a few times a year but it isn't brilliant.
Rating of season ONE: 6/10 (It doesn't work very well as the characters and scripts are still in development)
Only Fools and Horses: A Slow Bus to Chingford (1981)
A Classic Episode
One of the best episodes ever made and it also marks the one step up the show took from the awful season one to a much more better period. The plot is rather clever: Del Boy finds Rodney a job as a night guard in a bus station, very soon Del's true intentions are revealed and they are following: he wants to have a bus tour of the "ethnic London". Of course no one shows up but not because of the obviously fake places to visit than because Grandpa threw away all the flyers.
"A Slow Bus to Chingford" is a well-written, funny and extremely well made episode. David and Nick are absolutely brilliant and Johnny Sullivan's brilliant script works amazingly well.
Only Fools and Horses: The Russians Are Coming (1981)
Fantastic
The streak has really started. "The Russians are Coming" is a brilliant, hilarious and ingenious episode. It's also clever, full of brilliant anti- war comments and hilarious one-liners. The story goes: Del Boy finds a make-it-yourself bomb-shelter and they build it on top of the building. The rest of the episode is an amazing batch of one-liners, clever dialog's.
"The Russians are Coming" is one of the greatest episodes ever and it is a proud member of the golden collection of BBC. I have to compliment John Sullivan's brilliant development of writing dialog's and one-liners. The performances of the three leads are brilliant and unforgettable twist at the very end is a clever, well-directed long shot revealing the position of the bomb-shelter.
Only Fools and Horses: Cash and Curry (1981)
Mediocre, Mediocre
'Cash and Curry' is based on a rather repetitive and unfunny script and the episode it self is filled with unbelievable situations and annoying characters. The story itself isn't very clever and the story-line goes like this: Del gets into a business deal with this Indian bloke who gets him to try and buy of an ancient statue of a god from his mortal enemy. He can't do it himself because of their class differences. Soon however Del Boy discovers he is being conned.
Del seems drunk during most of the episode and compered to the others it isn't the worst ever but it's definitely forgettable. Also another factor which makes it even worse is the fact it aired right after a brilliant episode "Go West Young Man".
Only Fools and Horses: The Second Time Around (1981)
Another Bent o' the Ol' Nail
Season One was obviously not a brilliant one. It was still a working project and 'The Second Time Around' was just worse. The story goes: Del meets his old love Pauline but he finds that she is dominant and tiresome. So he escapes only to find that she has made a thousand pounds phone bill back home.
'Second Time Around' is a one-joke (bad joke) episode which revolves around Del (who isn't himself in this one) and Pauline (an incredibly annoying and tedious character i couldn't stand) and it just doesn't work. I was bored and annoyed during most of the episode and laughed only once. It's not the usual OFAH episode and John Sullivan was clearly not a developed writer at the time.
Only Fools and Horses: Big Brother (1981)
Episode One
This being the first episode of the show you can see that the characters and the premise are still fresh and undeveloped. Sadly so is the script. The story is rather sitcom-like. Del buys some hooky briefcases that can't be opened and Rodney runs away from home.
The story has an okay premise but the dialogs are rather edgy and seem forced. Fortunately Derek and Nicholas manage to lift the mediocre script.
Directed by: Martin Shardlow
Written by: John Sullivan
Produced by: Ray Butt
Only Fools and Horses: Go West Young Man (1981)
The Best Episode of the Show
I always preferred the dialog ridden episodes than the gag ones and this one proves i'm right to do so. I swear i never laughed so hard during an OFAH episode. This is the funniest and best written episode of the show ever made. The plot is rather simple: Del and Rodney go to the clubs on the west.
It's full of memorable hilarious lines and situations like: The gay club, the broken car, the 'if only one person calls me the naked civil servant' line e.t.c. John Sullivan's script is confidant, funny and it's a huge improvement over the first episode. I could watch "Go West Young Man" every day of the week and it would still be as fresh and as funny as the first time i saw it.
The Simpsons: The Way We Was (1991)
One of the Greatest Episodes
After the Simpsons TV breaks Marge tells the story of how her and Homer first met during their school years. Looking in the retrospective all the jokes are funny (e.a. when Homer notices a few fallen hairs he says "Plenty more where that came from"...) and the it's fun seeing the characters young (Patty and Selma are smoking). As for the other jokes Bart's comments during the story are hilarious as well as the not so subtle criticisms on the period.
This episode is warm and funny, and alto the ending seems a bit rushed i'm always ever so pleased to re-watch it.
P.S.: This is the first time the brilliant Jon Lovitz (Artie) appears.
Marple: The Body in the Library (2004)
Episode One
"The Body in the Library" was the first book i ever read by Agatha and i can say this version is very untrue to the novel but i don't care i enjoyed it anyway.
Geraldine McEwans's performance still ain't as great as it will be but she was OK. Joanna Lumley and Simon Callow are the best here lighting up the screen and making you laugh every time they appear on-screen.
But this "sort to say pilot episode" has ITV written all over it. It has the similar sets as any other ITV show, same costumes and directing.
Anyway i enjoyed it and i think a lot of people will too. Not a must-see from the show but if you like the rest definitely see this one.
Marple (2004)
God Knows...
...this isn't the greatest adaptation ever but who cares. I have great fun watching it and Geraldine McEwans is terrific as Miss Marple.
Show can be sometimes boring or stupid but when it is good it has an amazing number of humorous situations and grand characters.
Acting is tip-top and writing is great.
Many people hate this show because it is not faithful to the novels. But i don't want to watch a book on TV i want to watch a new thing, changed mystery and have great fun.
I recommend Marple dearly.
P.S.: I love Dame Agatha's books too, so don't say i like the show because i never read them.
The Odd Couple: The Jury Story (1970)
Jury Story
This is one of the finest if not the best episode of the first season. It has everything. Cleaver plot , funny lines and good acting.
Plot is a story of Felix and Oscar meeting for the first time on a jury. It is a hilarious spoof of "12 Angry Men".
The big thing about the story is that it is perfect for Felix to act the wise-guy. Again maybe the full potential of it isn't used (wich isn't rare for the first season) but it is very much passable , enjoyable and laughable.
This is one of those episodes you can re-watch any time of the day and still laugh to high heavens. It has some of the greatest jokes in the show .
Overall : an excellent way to spend 20 min.
The Odd Couple: Felix Gets Sick (1970)
Felix Gets Sick
Now this is something a little different. This episode has a plot that makes (at least some) sense , looses that slapstick crap and finally starts getting some things established.
About the episode itself it is better than the first two but it stills doesn't count into the best of. The writing is nice alto the full potential of the idea wasn't used.
Plot is very simple : Oscar brings a date into his apartment only to find Felix sick so he tries to fool his date that there is no one in that room and that he lives alone. The funniest bit most surely is when Felix reviles himself.
Acting is as usual very fine and Tony Randall and Jack Klugman are just adorable as Oscar and Felix , the roommates from hell.
All in all a very funny episode and 21 minutes well spend.
The Odd Couple: The Breakup (1970)
The Breakup
Now we have a first example of the laugh-to-high-heaven episode. That means that the whole point of it to be incredibly funny. Which it is. This is possibly the funniest episode of the first season. It has jokes and gags that you will laugh at any time you remember them.
This episode is about Oscar kicking Felix out of the apartment , so Felix puts a curse upon him which scares Oscar. It features wonderful performance by Al Molinaro as Murray who you will just adore. I remember that my lungs exploded from laughing.
Now about the minuses , you can't see them until you have watched the second season and understood how better that one is.
This episode is possibly the closest this season can get up to its much superior later seasons.
The Odd Couple: The Fight of the Felix (1970)
The Fight Of The Felix
This episode is fairly interesting , funny but it lacks a good plot.
It has all of the funny slapstick needed but it is just has a very stupid plot about Felix boxing against a jealous hockey player. It ends with a silly scene in the boxing ring in which Felix gets a pain in his back and Oscar takes the punch for him. The characters still aren't established and it still holds onto the old bar fight jokes and silly slapstick.
Overall it is a fairly amusing 21 minute but it just fails to impress. It is fairly nice acted and solidly directed but it still hasn't got the charm of the second - fifth season episodes will get.
The Odd Couple: The Laundry Orgy (1970)
The Laundry Orgy
So it begins. I wish there is more than a couple of good things i can say about this episode. It is a very funny but shallow example of the very inferior first season of "The Odd Couple". It has no inside information about the characters , no real humor but a silly slapstick and a couple of lousy cliché jokes. But it is saved up to a point by the most excellent performances by Tony Randall and Jack Klugman.
About the plot of the episode , it is about the boys having a date with Pigeon sisters which is because of the poker game in their flat going to be in the laundry room. That is just ridicules and just stupid. This is one of the black ships in this wonderful TV Show.
Only Fools and Horses: He Ain't Heavy, He's My Uncle (1991)
He Ain't Heavy , He's My Uncle
This is a very good episode from the 50-minutes stage of Only Fools And Horses. It starts of with an excellent humor-packed story about Del Boy buying his car and about Rodney looking for a job , than in turns into a story of Albert getting mugged (when actually he has only lost a fight against his old school friend Knock , Knock).
Overall this episode is a very fine example of the 50-minute episodes. It has excellent acting , good humor and an interesting story in the back , nice drama but it lacks some of the charm the older episodes had.
All in all this is a pretty enjoyable episode.